Today we’re looking at a map of the planet Gurx, as provided by Nibnassin. It’s not exhaustively detailed and I can’t guarantee the quality of the projection is 100% accurate and all that, but it covers the basics we’ll need for the rest of our look at the planet.

Most of the land mass on Gurx is currently located in a single Pangaea-like continent in the planet’s Northern hemisphere. Let’s take a look at some specific regions:

• A: The region depicted here in a kind of greyish purple is the Gurxian equivalent of a tundra, called the “Evboviv” in Strondo language. Cool and dry compared to the more southerly regions, the Evboviv of Gurx is made up of hilly areas, lots of rivers and lakes, and grasslike plants that grow dozens of metres tall in some areas. To the north of the Evboviv you’ll find volcanic mountain ranges, chilly deserts, and the polar ice cap. Strondovarians only sparsely populate this region, but a lot of their spaceports are located in cities around here.
• B: The brighter purple on the map is the rocky grasslands, which the Strondos know as the “Koneabb” and it is where most of Strondo population of Gurx lives. Though trees and forests can spring up here, generally the ground doesn’t support the large plants of Gurx very well, so only smaller grass-like plants can thrive. This makes a lot of room for Strondo development.
• C: The dark purple on this map is the dense forest region the Strondos call the “Yaouphar” and encompasses dryer forests of the north and the humid forests in the equatorial regions. Strondos have not always treated the Yaouphar with respect, but since they’ve begun populating other planets, few Gurxian Strondos have found it worth the effort to live there. Nature has reclaimed many of the former Strondo dwellings there and the Yaouphar are once again thick and teeming with diverse kinds of life, plants and animals, large and small.
• D: Slime is very common in the waters of Gurx, but the green on this map represents a region of ocean on which slime floats in a mass so thick and permanent on the surface and a whole ecology has grown on it. We might call these the “slimelands” but to the Strondos they are the “Chooeviv”. There are small Strondo settlements on the Chooeviv, mostly farming communities, but like the Yaouphar the population has decreased since the days before Strondos reached other worlds.
• E: The peninsula and islands in the South are the result of tectonic activity. These islands are so separated from the rest of the Gurxian landmass that animals and plants here had significant evolutionary differences from the rest of the world.
• F: And of course there is the ocean, or the “Agedda” as the Strondos call it. It makes up most of the surface of the planet and, while it doesn’t reach the depths that Earth’s oceans do, it is full of life as well.

Now lets look try to get to know the basics about the sixteen largest Strondovarian cities on the planet:

• Varniv: A port city with a reputation for being home to tough Strondos, Varniv is home to arenas where fights to once waged by Gurxian gladiators. While the “to the death” aspect has been dropped, there are still fighting exhibitions proudly waged here.
• Heamar: Once the seat of a mighty empire in times long ago, Heamar is now the most populous city on the planet. All Strondovarian cities are rich with monuments, but Heamar has more than any other city.
• Dalennep: The last city before the desert, and home to the world’s largest spaceport, Dalennep has a reputation as a place where adventures begin and is thus a tourist attraction to visiting Strondos (especially those coming to visit from colonies on other worlds). It is also home to the planet’s most successful electronics manufacturers.
• Hoaubp: The joke among Strondos is that Hoaubp is a boring place, but the Strondos that live there lead lives as rich as anyone else’s. In fact, Gurx’s largest poetry recitation club is in Hoaubp.
• Gevchost: Built at the mouth of the planet’s largest river, Gevchost has a long history as a farming region. Indeed a lot of Strondos in the region still do farming, but a prominent entertainment industry is also housed in Gevchost, creating the entertainments enjoyed by Strondos all over Gurx and beyond.
• Theebev: A city built in the mountains that uses geothermal energy from nearby volcanoes for power, Theebev is the world’s highest location and is also home to several of the most prominent schools on Gurx. Strondo parents all dream that their offspring will increase their credibility by studying here.
• Yirrebin: Yirrebin is home to one of the most important aspects of Strondovarian culture: The Knowledge Base. While the physical copies of the base aren’t as important as the information they hold, that information does need to be held somewhere. While the largest and most database of Knowledge Base files is kept in a space station far from Gurx, the database in Yirrebin is the planet’s strongest link to the Knowledge Base and is the broadcast of the information to which all Gurxian computers sync up to remain up to date. Incidentally, our Strondo volunteer Nibnassin was born in Yirrebin.
• Tellekarnus: Tellekarnus is a city full of canals instead of streets because at some point in ancient history, some leader in Tellekarnus decided that rafts and boats were easier to carry goods on than roads and designed a whole city around the plan. While it hardly let to Tellekarnus becoming the most successful city on Gurx, the canals and bridges of the city are renown for their uniqueness.
• Ealagav: Located near the world’s largest waterfall as well as several hot springs, the city of Ealagav is famous for its clear waters. A poet from the city hundreds of years ago used the imagery of Ealagav water in several poems. The denizens of Ealagav love the water, but sometimes they strive too hard to make more claims to fame for their city, which is why they’ve carved the side of one mountain into the largest monument on the planet (which they did in the likeness of that same poet).
• Sekkareamdo: The smallest of these sixteen large cities, Sekkareamdo has a sad and tragic history as the location of various infamous murders. This causes a problem because one of the things Strondo’s value is fame. Occasionally some Strondo desperate to have their name make it into the Knowledge Base will think that doing more murders in Sekkareamdo, becoming part of the legend.
• Heas Eurna: Heas Eurna was founded by outlaws and rebels who sought escape from the rest of the world. In the millennia since, the Strondos have created a single planets-wide culture that stomps out individuality where it can (the Knowledge Base being a useful tool for this) so the uniqueness of Heas Eurna has faded, but it remains in the reputation of the place. It’s also why there are so many secret tunnels around the place.
• Varibbimerx: The oldest still-active city on the planet, Varibbimerx is in the general area where Strondos first evolved. In many ways Strondovarians are not sentimental about ancient artifacts, but nonetheless there is a section of the old city still standing and preserved for historical reasons (and tourism).
• Asiv: The biggest seaport on Gurx, the biggest fishing industry, and the biggest shipbuilding facilities are all located in Asiv. While airborne (and spaceborne) vessels are widely used on Gurx now, the oceans still provide for Strondos and the denizens of Asiv don’t forget it.
• Phretex: When Strondovarians invented space travel capable of reaching other worlds, Phretex was the city with the foresight to build the “official” Welcome to Gurx Spaceport, with residences and industries designed to welcome visitors. While most of the visitors are Strondos who were born in space or on other planets, the hope is that someday the Strondos may be on good terms with some alien species and they might come to visit. It hasn’t happened yet, but the population of Phretex has grown as Strondos who want to be part of the business have moved there.
• Begouma: The city of Begouma is named after an ancient Strondo hero who is generally considered the most famous Strondo to have ever lived (assuming they did ever live outside of legends). Begouma regularly holds a festival in honour of the hero that brings in visitors from all over. The largest cemetery on the planet is also located here.
• Anhearva: Although the slime-based landmass of the Chooeviv is indeed thick enough to have structures built upon it, it is subject to the tides in a way that actual solid land is not, which is why the port city Anhearva, the largest city in the region, is built on an island for more stability. Most Strondo settlements do have slime farms of their own, but Anhearva still exports a lot of slime-products all over the world.

I don’t know that I’ll be getting back to maps with more detailed close-ups before I give up on this project, but I feel like we now know as much as we’ll need.